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Dr. Huang Wanqing, vice president of The Epoch Times, joined attorney Gao Zhisheng and other rights activists yesterday in their relay hunger strike against Beijing's brutality in protest of the Chinese communist regime's persecutions against his brother, Huang Xiong, a Falun Gong practitioner, the newspaper's columnists Zheng Yichun, Zhang Lin, Yang Tianshui, Xu Wanping, and the most recent violent attack on Li Yuan, chief technical officer of The Epoch Times, by the regime's thugs.
According to Huang, The Epoch Times had been considering the appropriate time to start its own activities in global solidarity of the recent rights advocacy hunger strike launched in China. As a result of the Chinese communist regime's savage beating of the chief technical officer, The Epoch Times' events will be launched ahead of schedule. Huang went on strike from February 8 to 9, for a total of 24 hours. On the night of February 8, despite the cold weather, Huang went ahead and sat before the Chinese Consulate General.
Huang believed that the current wave of hunger strikes has ignited the light of justice in China, and it will help expose the CCP's evilness and awaken more people in China.
Supporting Attorney Gao and other Rights Champions
Rights attorney Mr. Gao Zhisheng has been under pressure and threats from the communist authorities in China since he wrote three open letters to Chinese top leader Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao on behalf of Falun Gong. In the face of such persecution, Gao refuses to change his stance and persists in exposing the regime's evildoings, and has recently, together with other rights activists, started the relay hunger strike in protest of the Chinese communist regime's violence.
Huang praised attorneys Gao Zhisheng, Guo Guoting, and Yang Zaixin for their courage in defending Falun Gong practitioners and speaking out for the vulnerable groups in China. The fact that they were able to defy authorities and risk their own lives to uphold justice for the people under the red terror of China was especially commendable, said Huang. They were actually blazing the trail in civil rights advocacy in China, Huang added.
Huang said that the actions taken by attorney Gao and others were not individual and isolated cases. Rather, they represented a social trend and the wakening of the Chinese people. Their wisdom, conscience, and courage are reflected in their fights for human rights and justice and show their integrity and noble character as lawyers. The credit that Asian Weekly gave to 14 rights lawyers in China by naming them "the 2005 Men of the Year" was well deserved, Huang said.
Huang was convinced that the rights activists, as represented by rights lawyers in China, are the pioneers of China's freedom and democracy.
Gangster-like Methods of Suppression
Another purpose of Huang's hunger strike was to show support for his brother, Huang Xiong. His brother has been missing for nearly three years after he was abducted by the Chinese communist regime.
Huang Xiong, a resident of Wan'an County, Jiangxi Province, started to practice Falun Gong in 1996. The local communist authorities sentenced him to a one-year labor term in 2000. After he was released, Huang Xiong fled home to avoid further persecution from the authorities, and was wanted by police from Jiangxi Province and Shanghai. He was last heard from in April 2003, when he talked to Huang Wanqing on the phone in Shanghai.
Attorney Guo Guoting, a famous Shanghai rights lawyer, had taken the case of Huang Xiong and spent six months on the investigation going to different places. The authorities he approached refused to cooperate and kicked the ball around. They later suspended his practice for one year and took away his license while the case was still pending. Later, attorney Guo was forced to go overseas.
The police in Jiangxi not only threatened, harassed, and even interrogated Huang Wanqing's family members in China, but also exerted pressure on Huang, who is in the U.S., by resorting to the stick-and-carrot approach to his family members. Especially after The Epoch Times website published the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and the subsequent wave of quitting the Party started, the state police from Ji'an City, Jiangxi Province went to Huang's hometown several times in the name of helping find Huang Xiong, and asked Huang's family members to warn Huang not to attend overseas events involving the Nine Commentaries.
Huang strongly condemned the Chinese communist regime for their gangster-like persecution against Falun Gong practitioners. Recently, the communist authorities in China have more openly used such unscrupulous means of persecution against rights activists and ordinary citizens. Huang called on more people to show concern and expose such evilness, and help him find his brother.
Cowardliness in Persecution Reaching the U.S.
A shocking incident took place in the U.S. just hours before Huang went on hunger strike. Dr. Li Yuan, The Epoch Times' chief technical officer, was savagely beaten by armed thugs hired by the Chinese communist authorities at noon on February 8 at his home in Atlanta. The thugs covered Li with a quilt and beat him around the temples. They then bound him tightly and taped his mouth and eyes. Li was later taken to a hospital in an ambulance and received 15 stitches on his face. The thugs didn't take any valuables in the house, but wrenched open the file cabinet and took Li's computers.
Upon hearing the news, Huang felt he himself was beaten, too. Huang, who had lived in Atlanta for many years, and Li are both important Epoch Times staff.
Huang said that Li, as part of the technical staff, kept a low profile, but still could not escape the communists' brutality. Only cowards and thugs could do such a thing, Huang said.
Huang strongly condemned the thugs sent by the Chinese communist regime for carrying out abduction and burglary in broad daylight in the U.S. Huang said that since the publication of the Nine Commentaries, relatives in China of many Epoch Times staff workers have gotten warnings from China's state police, and in some cases, even death threats. So, they'll resort to any means [to achieve their aim], Huang added.
Huang said that The Epoch Times will stage a global protest.
Huang asked all Chinese people of conscience in or outside of China and all peace-loving people all over the world to step forward and support the current hunger strikes against the Chinese communist regime's brutalities. He called on the global forces of justice to carry on the protest and fight the persecution together.
Please see Epoch Times Chief Technical Officer Beaten in His Own Home
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